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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Android Tablets at Gabii

BY J. TROY SAMUELS, PhD student in the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Michigan

Buon Giorno from Rome! This summer, the Gabii Project,
a University of Michigan archaeological excavation and field school,
undertook our sixth full season of fieldwork focused on the ancient
Latin city of Gabii. Directed by University of Michigan professor Nicola
Terrenato, this large-scale open area excavation aims to both increase
our understanding of this city, a neighbor and rival to Rome in the
first millennium BCE, and educate students in archaeological method,
theory, Roman history, and myriad other topics. To that end, this season
we welcomed forty-two volunteers from a variety of undergraduate and
graduate colleges and universities to Rome, who, along with various
staff members, spent the last five weeks significantly expanding our
understanding of the city of Gabii, its people, and its history.

Gabii Project 2014 Team

Alongside the normal challenges and opportunities offered by such a
large-scale undertaking, the 2014 edition of the project featured a
massive shift in recording strategies. Instead of the paper forms used
in previous seasons, this year we decided to go paperless in the field.
All data was recorded exclusively on four Panasonic Toughpads and seven
Android tablets. Despite early trepidations, perhaps best exemplified by
the Seven Deadly Sin–themed names assigned to the seven Android
tablets, this new system has proved highly successful. Paperless
recording not only cut down on off-site data entry but also encouraged a
degree of student autonomy in information gathering and recording. The
individual nature of tablet data entry encouraged students to attempt to
record and understand the archaeology on their own terms before seeking
the help of their supervisors. By the end of the second week, it was
commonplace to see five students on their own tablets, independently
entering data pertaining to the stratigraphic unit they had excavated by
themselves. The presence of excellent students helped this transition
go smoothly, and paperless recording will certainly be a feature at
Gabii for years to come.

In terms of archaeological discovery, this season was also highly
successful. The large size of the project allows for two distinct areas
of excavation, Area F, focused on expanding our understanding of the monumental complex
revealed last season, and Area D, focused on an occupation area from
the early, formative phases of the city. While vastly different in terms
of surviving architecture and excavation method, both areas continue to
provide important information that will shape our understanding of the
cities and people of first-millennium BCE central Italy. We are excited
both about the many things we uncovered and the future seasons that will
help us continue to better understand the multifaceted, fascinating
material history of this important site.